Metal Improvement Company LLC (MIC), a business unit of the Surface Technologies Division of

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

Corporation (NYSE: CW), is a company specializing in metal surface treatments. MIC provides multiple technical services for the metal treatment industry, including Thermal Spray, Solid Film Lubricant an
Parylene Coatings
and Materials Testing Services; but is best known for its legacy Shot Peening technology, which can enhance the performance of metal components, preventing premature fatigue and

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

failures.

History

This company was founded in 1945 in southern California by engineer Henry Fuchs. Fuchs had been working with John Almen on new applications for

shot peening Shot peening is a cold working process used to produce a compressive residual stress layer and modify the mechanical properties of metals and composites. It entails striking a surface with shot (round metallic, glass, or ceramic particles) with ...

of automobiles and military equipment companies produced before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Fuchs and Almen worked at the Research Laboratory of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Corporation before the start of MIC. The

Almen strip An Almen strip is a thin strip of SAE 1070 steel used to quantify the intensity of a shot peening process. Developed and patented by John O. Almen, the strip was originally supported by 2 knife edges; later improvements see it being supported on ...

or Almen system, a tool for duplicating the shot peening process, was named after John Almen. Fuchs started in his garage accompanied by his son-in-law, Fred Landecker, with the idea of working in railways car suspensions and assemblies. Nevertheless, the shot peening industry was beginning and the automotive sector was not showing much interest. So it was the aircraft industry which first began to use the beneficial processes. Henry Fuchs died in 1989. He was a Professor Emeritus of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. The

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

named an award "Henry O. Fuchs" in his honor. In the 1950s, the company worked on the wing skins of

Lockheed Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was also produc ...

aircraft and the famous

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft. In 1968 the company was acquired by Curtiss-Wright which had begun an expansion program at its Buffalo extrusion facility, adding new forging and machining equipment for building aircraft and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

components. In the 1970s, the idea of metal peening with light was explored in the company and in the metal treatment industry. At the end of the 1990s

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

, working under a government contract for a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

to illuminate passing

satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

, developed a process of

peening In metallurgy, peening is the process of working a metal's surface to improve its material properties, usually by mechanical means, such as hammer blows, by blasting with shot (shot peening), or focusing light (laser peening). Peening is norma ...

with light with enough power to use it also for commercial purposes. Metal Improvement Company, under a CRADA agreement with Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, began to develop this technology for commercial customers and in 2003 the company introduced the

laser peening Laser peening (LP), or laser shock peening (LSP), is a surface engineering process used to impart beneficial residual stresses in materials. The deep, high-magnitude compressive residual stresses induced by laser peening increase the resistance of ...

to the market. In 2006

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

worked with the company, and they together presented a study called: "Effects of Laser Peening, and Shot Peening on Friction Stir Welding".Effects of Laser Peening, and Shot Peening on Friction Stir Welding http://www.asipcon.com/2006/06_proceed/Tuesday/0200_Harrison.pdf Today, MIC is one of the business units of the Curtiss-Wright Surface Technologies Division. With 70 facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, they provide job shop surface treatments including shot peening, laser peening, thermal spray coatings, solid film lubricant and material testing services.

Processes

Shot peening Shot peening is a cold working process used to produce a compressive residual stress layer and modify the mechanical properties of metals and composites. It entails striking a surface with shot (round metallic, glass, or ceramic particles) with ...

Laser Peening Laser peening (LP), or laser shock peening (LSP), is a surface engineering process used to impart beneficial residual stresses in materials. The deep, high-magnitude compressive residual stresses induced by laser peening increase the resistance of ...

Thermal spraying Thermal spraying techniques are coating processes in which melted (or heated) materials are sprayed onto a surface. The "feedstock" (coating precursor) is heated by electrical (plasma or arc) or chemical means (combustion flame). Thermal sprayi ...

References

; Footnotes

External links

Shotpeener Articles Library Modern Shot Peening TechnologyOfficial Metal Improvement Company Website

Curtiss-Wright Surface Technologies Division
{{Authority control Engineering companies of the United States es:Metal Improvement Company ja:カーチス・ライト zh:柯蒂斯-萊特公司